The Fan Art Files: The Best Portraits of Kendrick Lamar

Every day this week, Green Label will celebrate the most creative fan art of today's popular artists.

According to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a portrait "does not merely record someone's features, however, but says something about who he or she is, offering a vivid sense of a real person's presence."

Dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, subjects, usually of high status, were transformed into larger-than-life figures through art. That tradition continues in 2015, with high status now referred to as "celebrity" and artwork created by fans instead of commissioned artists. Hip-hop artists, in particular, have become rockstars, ruling over American pop culture like modern royalty.